Russian Group Claims Lithuania Cyberattack Amid Kaliningrad Standoff

Russian hacking group Killnet has claimed responsibility for the latest cyberattacks on Lithuania according to Reuters. The report states that the dedicated denial of service (DDoS) attack was in direct response to Lithuania's enacting of EU sanctions, which Vilnius claims means it must halt the transit of metal, coal, and construction materials (among other goods) across its territory to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

• Reuters reports the group stating that "The attack will continue until Lithuania lifts the blockade...We have demolished 1652 web resources. And that's just so far."
• Russian cyberattacks on Baltic state and private institutions are nothing new, but there is the strong potential for a significant escalation in the wake of the situation around Kaliningrad.
• There remain significant concerns in the Baltics about their security situation. A Russian invasion of any of the Baltic states remains an unlikely tail risk, given that it would be a direct assault on a NATO member state risking a severe global escalation in the conflict and therefore an action Moscow would not take lightly.